90 or 180 degrees

[bulldozerjoe]

New to saw milling, bought a woodland mills hm130 with trailer. 16 foot cut... after I make that opening cut.. what's the best way to make the second cut... do I turn the log 90 degrees so that the opening cut is against the log stops or 180 so that the opening cut is on the bunks... cutting spruce now.. dimensional lumber... thanks

[Southside]

Typically, and especially with framing lumber, I rotate 180 to keep the stress evened out in the soon to be cant.  

[bulldozerjoe]

Thank you, I'm new to milling... so much to take in... I put a ash log on the mill and that thing cut true... now I put spruce on it and the blade wanders when i hit a knot... that's my next problem to over come... but thank u

[Southside]

Spruce knots are very hard, you want to have a sharp band on when sawing spruce.  What are you using for a band? FWIW my 55 HP diesel deflected today in Southern Yellow Pine knots with a .055, 1 3/4" band that was sharp.  Sometimes there is only so much you can do. 

[bulldozerjoe]

I'm using what the saw came with, I've got 10 ripper 37..

[Southside]

Might want to try a 4° band for Spruce. 

[bulldozerjoe]

Jerry's recommended 7 degree, which I bought... I don't know what came with the mill... maybe I'll try the rippers.. couldn't hurt I've got them.. thank u for your reply's 

[thecfarm]

I only saw for myself.
I have very little spruce on my land.
I got spruce once, before I was a member here.
Never again!!
Yes, I could saw if with a different degree blades, but with so few spruce, why bother?
With 10° blades that wood waved at me all day long. 
This was before the OWB too.
It all went onto the brush pile. :(

[47sawdust]

For spruce, a slow feed rate,drive belt must be tensioned properly,enter the log from the narrow end and 4° blades works best for me. Also,fresh logs.
My mill has a 24 hp Honda.

[Wayne_Stevens]

Would all of these recommendations be the same for fir?

[alan gage]

My best advice is to not saw spruce, period. I've ignored my own advice often enough but after the last go round I think I'll take it to heart. Everyone seems to fight it. 

Alan

[47sawdust]

Not true. I'm cutting some very knotty spruce that I used to avoid. I am happy with the results and encouraged because that is what grows on my property.
I do enjoy sawing balsam fir as well but good logs are hard to find.

[ladylake]

 I find to cut spruce straight I need a 4°  shallow gullet blade and still will get a slight wave in the real wide cuts.  Steve

[Roundhouse]

I cut with a HM130 as well. Much of the time I'm doing neither of those options. If the log is easy to manipulate I'll rotate it so the opening cut is opposite the stops at the back. The log needs to be clamped with that cut 90 degrees to the bunks as confirmed by a large carpenters square. That's why if a log is wobbly or otherwise not easy to manipulate and clamp while square I will just roll it the other way with the cut against the stops. The benefit of rolling the log towards me is that every cut after the very first can be made into a cut surface and not the bark. You are rolling onto the flat bunk once you tackle that first roll that gets manually squared up.